Florida / School Districts / Monroe
At its meeting the Monroe County School Board approved the 2025–26 salary schedule, design plans for the Trumbo affordable housing project, a resolution authorizing Smith Hawks PL to represent the board before the City of Key West, and contract actions for Rex Weech and Founders Park.
Florida / School Districts / Monroe
Design updates to Reynolds School — more brick trim, revised fence with grates, added palms and skylights — were welcomed by neighbors, but board members raised concerns about parking counts and whether to include a noisy generator; staff will return cost comparisons and proceed with design development.
Florida / School Districts / Monroe
Monroe County Schools approved districtwide implementation of the University of Florida Literacy Institute (UFLI) for kindergarten through second grade after a district presentation showing early teacher‑confidence gains and student progress in decoding and phonics instruction.
Florida / School Districts / Monroe
Superintendent Tierney reported a clean financial audit with no findings on food service, low teacher vacancy rates and several achievement gaps — including a 2.8‑point lag in overall graduation rate and larger shortfalls for exceptional students and English language learners — and proposed targeted actions on pathways and supports.
Florida / School Districts / Monroe
Poinciana Elementary outlined a school improvement plan focused on students with disabilities, early literacy, reading comprehension in grades 3 and 5, and raising attendance to 97% with interventions and programs such as UFLI and read-alouds.
Florida / School Districts / Monroe
The board approved the design-development phase for Founders Park baseball field renovations, retaining artificial turf and a concession/press-box building but removing a planned multipurpose building; the estimated project cost was cited at $5.6 million excluding renovation of an existing locker-room building.
Florida / School Districts / Monroe
Staff presented schematic-design progress for Reynolds School, showed renderings and scheduled a public meeting Oct. 13; design-development completion targeted for Nov. 21 and construction documents for Jan. 23, with spring construction start if timelines hold.
Florida / School Districts / Monroe
District officials said they are meeting weekly with the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority, FDOT and the sheriff’s office to mitigate traffic impacts of a pipeline replacement near PKS and Coral Shores High School; potential short, localized delays expected in mid-November.
Florida / School Districts / Monroe
Head Start staff presented modifications to the 2025–26 strategic improvement plan, reported full Head Start enrollment, 87 families at a recent family night and added safety and classroom supports including helmets and attendance scanning.
Florida / School Districts / Monroe
A Key West couple said school staff and a school resource officer refused to release their daughter at her established walker gate; they urged the Monroe County School Board to reinstate the procedure, require staff training and issue an apology.